How being Markled over race row sparked Jessica Mulroney's spiral, insiders claim… as Meg's ex-BFF ‘splits from husband'

The Sun

a day ago

MAYBE think twice before making friends with Meghan Markle.
Just ask her former best pal Jessica Mulroney, who's been on a downward spiral both personally and professionally ever since being unceremoniously dumped by the duchess five years ago.
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It's certainly been a challenging five years since that very public dumping - which came following Jessica's PR crisis in 2020.
At the time, she lost her best friend and a string of high-profile gigs in the aftermath.
But now it's been claimed her relationship with husband Ben Mulroney, with whom she shares three children, also suffered.
This week, following much speculation, it was reported that their 16-year marriage is over.
And according to insiders, Meghan's decision to "cut off" her friend may well have contributed to its demise.
Speaking about the split - first rumoured last month after Jessica attended a wedding at the Ritz-Carlton in Toronto alone - an insider tells The Sun: "It didn't help that Meghan effectively 'ghosted' Jessica after 2020, basically cutting her off entirely.
"Jessica played coy about the end of their friendship for a bit, but at a certain time, she started teasing [that things were over]."
The insider adds that the stress and upset had knock-on effects on her personal life.
"Jessica's been open about her anxiety over the years," we're told. "Ben tried to be supportive, but the toll of everything was possibly too much."
Having been friends for years, the proverbial hit the fan for Jessica and Meghan in 2020, after Jessica was embroiled in a headline-grabbing race row with lifestyle blogger Sasha Exeter during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement.
According to Sasha, Jessica showed 'textbook white privilege' and refused to amplify black voices after she'd reached out to her online asking for support.
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Jessica hit back, allegedly threatening to have her blacklisted from all major brands if she didn't leave her alone.
Sasha said: 'I'm by no means calling Jess a racist, but what I will say is this: she is very well aware of her wealth, perceived power and privilege because of the colour of her skin and that, my friends, gave her the momentary confidence to come for my livelihood in writing.'
Things went from bad to worse when Sasha leaked messages that Jessica had sent to her by way of apology, which seemingly implicated Meghan - a vocal supporter of amplifying black voices, who has spoken out about her own experiences of racism.
In one message, Jessica wrote: 'As I told you privately, I have lived a very public and personal experience with my closest friend where race was front and centre. It was deeply educational. I learned a lot from that.
'I promise to continue to learn and listen on how I can use my privilege to elevate and support black voices.'
Despite her best intentions, Jessica was promptly dropped from the Sussex sisterhood.
Sources at the time claimed Meghan already felt Jessica was trying to "make a career out of the friendship", and when she embroiled her in this PR crisis, it was the final straw.
One insider told Page Six in 2020: "The white privilege row has really given Meghan the excuse she was waiting for to cut Jess off for good.
"I don't know what the tipping point was, but Jess has been on the out for some time."
'Cracks started to show'
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As Meghan distanced herself from her best friend, things went from bad to worse for Jessica.
She was dropped by Good Morning America and Canadian TV network CTV, where she hosted wedding-themed reality TV series I Do, Redo, as well as department store Hudson's Bay, where she worked as their fashion and bridal specialist.
A source told us: "Jessica never really seemed to recover from that incident, losing all of her gigs around that time, including her GMA job."
Ben also left his long-running job as host of E! around the same time.
While the couple stayed committed to each other at the time, cracks "started to show".
An insider claimed: "They presented a united front. It was them against the world, and they were so angry for a while that the anger possibly fuelled them.
"But in many ways, the incident also exposed cracks in their marriage."
Five years later those cracks seem to have splintered beyond repair.
And while Jessica now finds herself without her husband and best friend, Ben's reportedly moved on with a new girlfriend.
Insiders believe her sad state of affairs won't change anything when it comes to her relationship with Meghan.
The women first became friends back in 2011 - when a pre-royal Meghan was still living her former life as a TV actress on the Toronto-based series Suits.
They bonded quickly, and it was claimed Jessica was instrumental in helping to ingratiate Meghan into the upper echelons of Canada's high society.
While Jessica knew and styled many figures - including former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 's then wife Sophie Grégoire - Ben was also extremely well-connected.
His politician father elevated his position in society, while his TV work - presenting shows including Canadian Idol and Your Morning - made him one of the city's most prominent figures.
We're told: 'Jessica and Ben helped facilitate Meghan's entry into Canadian social circles, and helped to vouch for her.
'Furthermore, during those mad early years when she started dating Prince Harry and she was still living in the city, they helped to shroud them in Toronto, even hosting them at their home.'
When Harry proposed, Jessica was one of the first people Meghan called.
She went on to play a key role at the royal wedding, unofficially assuming duties as maid of honour and helping Meghan choose her dress.
Her daughter Ivy, then four, also walked alongside royal children - including Princess Charlotte - as bridesmaid, while her then seven-year-old sons, Brian and John, acted as pageboys.
Just months later the family accompanied Harry and Meghan on their royal tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.
And, of course, Jessica was there - front and centre - for Meghan's star-studded baby shower in New York in 2019.
But ever since her PR crisis, she's been royally 'Markled' - that is, dumped by the duchess.
And she's not the first person who Meghan has seemingly dropped when it suits her.
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Just cast your minds back to 2018, when she welcomed a slew of Hollywood glitterati to Windsor for her and Harry's nuptials.
All those in attendance - including Oprah Winfrey, Priyanka Chopra, Serena Williams, George and Amal Clooney, and David and Victoria Beckham - attested to the celebrity status that the Sussex power couple had cultivated.
Since then however, their friendships - for the large part - have proven to be all smoke and mirrors, as Meghan and Harry have been accused of being as impetuous in their social lives as they are in their ever changing careers.
Alliances that appear to have fallen by the wayside include friendships with the Beckhams, the Clooneys and Tyler Perry.
And that's before you take into account their family estrangements.
Not only have they burned bridges with the Royal Family, after consistently lashing out at them since moving to the US post-Megxit, they've also made it clear they want nothing to do with Meghan's paternal side of the family.
Granted, Meghan's estranged father Thomas and sister Samantha have been unscrupulous in their public attacks against Meghan - with the latter branding her 'Princess Pushy'.
She's long insisted she never had any relationship with Samantha, and only cut her father out of her life after he started exploiting her in the media.
But whether they were the first to cast the stone or not, the fact remains: Meghan's family and her in-laws have also been Markled.
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As for Jessica, there's no suggestion that Meghan actively worked to bring down her friend.
The fact is, Jessica made a misstep in her interactions with Sasha, and she paid the price with her career, and - latterly it seems - her marriage.
Meghan could have stepped in at any point and used her power and influence to bolster her former BFF's public standing - but her silence was deafening.
Meanwhile, initially, Jessica did all she could to quieten any rumours of bad blood between them.
Shutting down rumours
In September 2020 - just a few months after her fallout with Sasha and amid rumours that Meghan had dumped her - she rubbished the speculation.
She wrote on her Instagram Stories: 'I'm going to tell this once and for all. Meghan and I are family.
'She is the kindest friend and has checked up on me everyday.'
Then, six months later, she posted a photo of flowers she'd received from Meghan for her birthday, writing in the caption: 'LUCKIEST FRIEND XXXX, THX MM.'
However, as time ticked on it became clear the two women had become distant - with Meghan seemingly the driving force.
In June 2021, Jessica posted cryptically on Instagram: 'Life changes. You lose love. You lose pieces of yourself that you never imagined would be gone.'
It can be lonely have the world, friends distance from you
Jessica Mulroney
Later that year she wrote online: 'It can be lonely having the world, friends distance from you and not even ask how you are. But, thankfully, you find the things that truly matter…'
Still, Meghan didn't make a move - and Jessica seemed to get the message.
In 2022, she shared a picture of a sign that said: 'You are not too sensitive. You are not overreacting. If it hurts you it hurts you.'
She wrote beneath it: 'I wish I had seen this a long time ago. I hope it makes a difference in your day too.'
Despite being so instrumental in the Sussexes' lives for a period, Jessica was glaringly absent from Harry's 2023 memoir Spare, and did not appear on Meghan's Netflix lifestyle series With Love, Meghan - which saw the latter invite her closest friends to cook alongside her.
In fact, the former best friends haven't been pictured together for five years.
Now as Jessica deals with the alleged demise of her 16-year marriage and all the uncertainty that comes with that, one bitter thing seems certain - she won't be getting support from her former ride or die.
The ones that got Markled
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made a habit of losing friends and alienating people. Here are the other casualties in their climb to the top of the social pile...
The Beckhams
David and Victoria were already bosom buddies with Harry and Meghan by the time they rocked up to their royal wedding in 2018. But the sucker punch came in 2023, when Harry and Meghan reportedly accused Victoria of selling stories about them to the press, leaving David 'outraged'.
According to sources, the Beckhams duly distanced themselves, and have since become increasingly disturbed by the Sussexes' war against the royal family.
Meanwhile the Sussexes' recent decision to socialise with their estranged son, Brooklyn Beckham, and his wife, Nicola, will have done nothing to heal old wounds.
The Clooneys
Like the Beckhams, George and Amal were equally 'uncomfortable' with the Sussexes' royal bashing. In September 2023, they left Harry and Meghan off the guest list at their second annual Albie Awards, despite inviting half of Hollywood to attend.
Then in November, Amal joined forces with Michelle Obama and Melinda Gates in Malawi for a charitable initiative, apparently leaving Meghan 'outraged' that she wasn't included in the mix. They haven't socialised in public since.
Oprah Winfrey
They may have stepped down as senior royals, but Harry and Meghan still proved they were holding superior rank when they sat down with daytime TV queen – and good friend – Oprah Winfrey in 2021 for that tell-all interview.
But in the past few years their alliance has apparently staled – hinted at earlier this month when Oprah cheekily mocked Meghan's recent request to call her "Meghan Sussex".
The Obamas
If Harry and Meghan had a mood board of couples they'd most like to emulate, Barack and Michelle Obama would be pinned front and centre. But following their bombshell interview with Oprah in 2021, Michelle commented – in an apparent diss against the Sussexes – 'The thing that I always keep in mind is that none of this is about us, in public service – it's about the people that we serve.'
Since then the couples have barely crossed paths, with insiders saying it's far from coincidental.
Serena Williams
No one knows what goes on behind closed doors, but some have voiced confusion over Meghan and Serena's famous friendship, which has gone quiet in recent years.
Having first made friends at the 2010 Super Bowl in Miami, Serena was one of Meghan's most vocal supporters, tweeting in 2021: 'Meghan Markle, my selfless friend, lives her life – and leads by example – with empathy and compassion.'
Four years later, her public declarations of support have gone AWOL.
Tyler Perry
The filmmaker was like family to Meghan and Harry - he offered up his LA pad to them when they first moved to LA, and he's godfather to their daughter, Lilibet.
But after he was sued in June for sexual harassment, assault and retaliation, the couple's silence has been deafening, with insiders saying they refuse to be dragged into his mess, and would rather cut ties altogether.
Royal expert Hilary Fordwich commented: 'Instead of offering their stalwart support as good friends would who even lived in his home, this silence is a clear demonstration of a total lack of moral courage.'
Meghan's family
In their eyes, Meghan's family have been collateral damage in her climb to the top. According to estranged sister Samantha Markle, Meghan is a 'social climber' whose royal ambitions were clear from the start.
Meanwhile, ever since his daughter cut him off in 2018, Thomas Markle has become increasingly vocal about her in the public eye. Earlier this year he called her 'inauthentic', saying her expressions on her Netflix series With Love, Meghan seemed 'pre-planned' and that she came across as 'trying too hard'. He's also slammed her for not letting him meet his grandchildren.
The Royal Family
As we all know, Harry and Meghan's departure from royal life had immeasurable implications on the royals - but it was the pair's depiction of events during Megxit that really left lasting wounds.
They've lashed out at King Charles and the Prince and Princess of Wales, and slammed all three for their behaviour towards them. Five years since Megxit, sources say Meghan has no intention of ever returning to the UK, despite Harry's wishes to make amends.